BAU students on strike

Students take out a procession on BAU campus yesterday demanding immediate arrest and capital punishment of all the killers of Saad Ibney Momtaz, a final year student of the Fisheries Faculty of the university. Photo: Star

Academic and administrative activities at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) came to a halt as students began an indefinite strike yesterday, demanding immediate arrest and capital punishment of all the killers of Saad Ibney Momtaz.
Hundreds of students around 8:30am gathered in front of the administrative building and staged a sit-in there for an hour.
They later brought out a procession on the campus to press the demands.
The agitating students also locked the Animal Husbandry faculty after a scuffle with some security personnel of the university, when some students of the faculty were attending a class.
No classes or examinations were held yesterday, due to the strike.
The students around 12:30pm again staged a sit-in in front of the administrative building and threatened to lock the academic and administrative buildings and the state-run banks on the campus today if the demands were not met immediately.
They also urged the authorities to put pressure on the government for taking steps to arrest the killers and holding their trial under the Speedy Trial Act.
Meanwhile, around 4:30pm, the male students from different faculties under the banner of 'Students Association' besieged the Vice-Chancellor's residence and blocked the main road of the university, demanding resumption of classes and examinations.
Meanwhile, BAU Teachers Association (BAUTA) on Sunday night, through a press release announced that they have withdrawn their solidarity with the demonstrating students saying that the BAU teachers never support any activities that contradict to the discipline.
BAU authorities formed a five-member probe body on April 28 to prove why the students are not returning to their classes despite punitive actions have been taken against six accused students allegedly involved in the killing.
Earlier on April 9, the BAU authorities expelled three students and suspended three others for their alleged involvement in the killing.
Rejecting the university authority's decision, the students have been continuing their agitation demanding life term expulsion of the accused students involved in the killing.
The university authorities on April 15 formed a five-member probe body for carrying out further investigation. They have been asked to submit its report within 21 working days.
Saad Ibney Momtaz, a final-year student of fisheries faculty of the university, succumbed to his injuries as a private clinic on April 1, a day after some unruly BCL men beat him up mercilessly at Ashraful Hawue Hall on the campus.